KC to play host to Gold Cup matches

Sporting Kansas City officials have previously mentioned the likelihood of the team’s new stadium being host to Gold Cup games. On Thursday, CONCACAF announced that two matches for the 2011 Gold Cup will be played at the stadium.

Kansas City is one of a number of cities that will play host to games during the Gold Cup, which crowns CONCACAF’s champion. A first-round doubleheader will be played here on June 14.

Seven countries already have qualified for the 2011 Gold Cup: the United States, Mexico, Canada, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Cuba and Grenada. The final five entrants will qualify in January’s Copa Centroamericana in Panama.

The winner of the Gold Cup, which will be from June 5-25, will qualify for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil.

CONCACAF will announce the Gold Cup groups, schedule and ticket information in February.

The other venues are Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas; RFK Stadium in Washington D.C.; the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.; Ford Field in Detroit; Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.; FIU Stadium in Miami; Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.; Soldier Field in Chicago; Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J.; New Medowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.; Reliant Stadium in Houston; and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

Sporting’s $180 million new stadium is now under construction at Village West in Kansas City, Kan. It will seat 18,500 when it opens next year.